


the manner of things

by starlight_sugar



Category: Campaign (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, implied Aava/Tryst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 00:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16608158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlight_sugar/pseuds/starlight_sugar
Summary: “I need to hide. I’m a wanted criminal.”“I’m a wanted traitor. I need to hide too.”Aava and Leenik, on the run together.





	the manner of things

**Author's Note:**

> Content warnings apply for canon-typical violence, including implied deaths. Nothing gory, but it happens.
> 
> With infinite, infinite thanks and love to Tam, who listened to me whine about this fic for weeks and very patiently beta-read it and made it readable. And also, thank you to the folks on Tumblr who helped me come up with names for Star Wars authors.
> 
> The title comes from Barns Courtney's [Glitter and Gold.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrV90gXmOpA)

Z,

I’m sorry to leave so suddenly. I had a fight with my boss, and it ended with me storming out rather dramatically. I certainly won’t be able to go back to work again, and I need some time off to take care of myself. I’m only taking this comm with me. Message me if you like, but be discreet. I don’t need work tracking me down. And only call me if you absolutely must. I think it’s best that I cut all my ties, but I’d prefer not to cut this one. Funny how that works.

Give my love to B if he deserves it, and to S if he’ll have it. Take care of them while I’m gone. Force only knows how long I’ll be away. I wish I had time to say a real goodbye, to them and to you.

I hope I see you again one day. I really do.

A

 

#

 

“Name,” says the man at the desk.

The inn is seedy, and not the kind of seedy that Aava has become accustomed to in her line of work. She’s been to places that are seedy on purpose, that try and draw the darkness in, and she follows because that’s what she does when beckoned. But this place isn’t dark so much as dim, isn’t in despair so much as underfunded, and it leaves her uneasy as she stands at the counter. She misses the cover of intentional darkness. She misses people being afraid of her.

She’s going to have to get used to not having either of those anymore.

“Family name Lissiri,” she drawls, affecting the same Outer Rim lilt as the man behind the counter. He’s human, old, on the tail end of middle-aged. His right hip is going to give out soon. Pity. It’ll make his job harder. “First name Nikana.”

“Nikana Lissiri,” the man repeats dubiously. Too dubiously for him not to recognize the name. He doesn’t look like the type who would read Neimoidian Sparks, but she supposes it’s hard to tell who goes for romance novels just by looking at them. She could’ve gone for a less obvious pseudonym, but it’s not like she had much time to think. Stopping at the inn was a snap decision, and it’s one that’s seeming worse and worse with every second.

Aava tilts her head, letting her hair fall to one side. Kriff, she’s going to need to do something about her hair. She’s far too recognizable already with her tattoos. She’s already three cargo ships and a pleasure cruise away from Coruscant, zig-zagging around the galaxy and doubling back as needed, but that’s not far enough that nobody will know her. She’s being sloppy about this, the kind of sloppy that could get her caught or killed or hunted for a bounty, but she needs a night for herself. She needs to stop moving, just this once, and get enough rest to have a plan.

The man at the desk is still staring at her, not typing into his datapad. Aava arches an eyebrow as gracefully as she can. “Is there a problem?”

That seems to shake him back into himself. “No, Missus Lissiri, I just-”

“Missus?” Aava repeats, more sharply than she intends.

The man shrinks away. “I’m real sorry, Missus Lissiri, it’s just, your husband Bellek, he got here not three hours ago, mentioned you by name, and I don’t have a great many rooms in this establishment, so if I could have the two of you share-”

“Can you call him?”

“What’s that?”

“Can you call my husband.” It’s not really a question. She props one hand on her hip and stares at the man. There’s a limited number of people who would check into a shady inn on Arreyel, let alone people who would do so with a pseudonym from a Neimoidian Sparks novel. It’s less conspicuous to travel with a spouse, or even to stay with another person rather than being alone. And if worse comes to worst and whoever this is won’t play along, she can always find another inn.

The man presses a couple buttons on the datapad and nods to himself. “He should be here in a minute. Missus Lissiri, I don’t mean to be critical, but-”

“But?”

“But this ain’t a nice place for a lady.”

“I ain’t a nice lady,” Aava says flatly, letting the drawl vanish from her voice. The man must hear some veiled threat, because he falls silent and gives Aava time to re-check her surroundings. There’s one door out, behind her; probably some kind of emergency exit if she pushes past the man into the back room. There’s probably some kind of security trigger on the datapad, but she hasn’t seen him set off anything that looks suspicious. The building is built flat instead of high, all one story, so if she needs a higher vantage point it’s the roof or nothing. There are dozens of inns and hotels on the planet and she picked this one because she couldn’t tell the difference between it and the others, but maybe she chose wrong. Maybe it’s time to go. Maybe it’s-

“Oh,” someone says behind her.

Aava turns, forcing herself to be as poised as possible. Leenik Geelo looks listlessly back at her. He doesn’t have a wig or an eyepatch, or even so much as a twinkle in his eye.

“Bellek,” Aava says, trying to ignore how suddenly her heart is in her throat. She hadn’t seen the Mynock in the major spaceport in town, but she hadn’t exactly thought to look. Leenik and Tryst wouldn’t bring her back to the Empire, she’s sure of it, but that Twi’lek might. That clone most definitely would.

Leenik blinks slowly at her. “Hi.”

“Hey, bright eyes,” she says, unable to stop herself. Something flashes across Leenik’s face, there and gone in a second. “Didn’t know you’d be staying here.”

“Gotta stay somewhere.”

“I’ll pay you back half the night’s costs if you let me stay with you.”

Leenik looks her up and down. She wonders what he sees: the plain clothes that she stole two planets ago, the still-healing wound across one leg, the lightsaber dangling off her belt hidden from anyone who wouldn’t think to look for it, the lack of suitcases, the way she’s almost swaying on her feet with exhaustion. Whatever he sees, he must decide it’s worth the risk, because he nods. “I think that’s thirty creds.”

“Thirty creds,” Aava repeats, and looks at the man behind the desk. “I’ll need a key to his room.”

The man starts babbling out yes-of-course and so-sorry-missus, and Aava looks back at Leenik. If she looks tired, he looks exhausted. Every other time she’s seen him, he was all nervous energy, whether he was ready to fight or flee or spill his secrets. Now he’s practically leaning against the wall to stay upright. His hands are twitching restlessly, and his eyes are flicking around the room, never landing on anything for longer than two seconds.

“Your key, Missus Lissiri,” the man says. Aava holds a hand out without looking at him, and he drops it in. She supposes she should be worried about him being so afraid of her so suddenly, about her cover being blown, but she’s busy trying to puzzle out Leenik. She can deal with threats, but she needs to be sure that Leenik is safe. “You can, uh, head up-”

Leenik spins on his heel and starts down a hallway. Aava doesn’t look back at the innkeeper as she follows him. Leenik’s shoulders are tense and drawn up, and he keeps jerking his head to look one way and the other. He’s looking for exits, she realizes abruptly. Same as she was.

You don’t look for exits when you have people to watch your back.

Leenik barely stops in time to wave his key in front of the door. She follows him in, taking stock of the room. One bed in the corner, one bathroom, two broken lights. One window. One duffle bag -- not even a full suitcase. No comms in sight.

The door shuts behind her. “Leenik,” she says, quietly, cautiously.

He doesn’t turn. “What?”

“Are you safe?”

“Am I safe?”

“You seem afraid.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

Aava snorts. “What do I have to be afraid of?”

Leenik ignores her, going to the bed and tossing his key on the nightstand. Clearly she chose the wrong approach, so she tries a different tack. “You’re here alone.”

“So are you.”

“I left.”

“Left what?”

She pauses. What did she leave, exactly? Louphan tried to kill her, not through sabotage or subtlety but with a saber. Aava had narrowly come out on top, had killed her and ran, before she could think twice about it. She’d always known that the Empire would hate her if it weren’t for what she could do for them. Maybe she needed to do something for herself. So she’d run from Coruscant, and the Empire, and Dathomir, and her friends.

“I left,” she repeats, and Leenik must understand that she means she left everything. “And so did you.”

He looks at her, directly this time, with something angry sparking across his face. “Yes.”

“You weren’t separated or pulled away. You left.”

“I did.”

Aava looks from the bed to the window to the door to the bed. It’s at a haphazard angle, she can see it now. Like he’s trying to see the window and the door, on opposite sides of the room, at the same time. “You need to get some sleep.”

“I can’t.”

“I’ll keep watch.”

“You need to sleep too.”

“I’ll wake you halfway through the night.” It’s a lie, possibly. She needs time to meditate, and that might be more important than sleep.

Leenik looks at her for a long minute. “You’re not going to ask me more questions?”

“Not if you won’t answer them.”

“How do you know I won’t answer them? Try me, I’ll answer your questions.”

“Alright, why did you leave the Mynock?”

He twitches minutely. “We had a disagreement.”

“About what?”

“About what I was doing.”

“Did they ask you to go?”

“I left,” he bites out, like she couldn’t have guessed that much herself. They would never ask Leenik to leave, no matter what he did. But he’s a runner. If he felt like he had to get out, he would. “Without warning them, if that’s your next question.”

It hadn’t been, but Aava nods slowly. “So now you’re on the run.”

“I need to hide. I’m a wanted criminal.”

“I’m a wanted traitor. I need to hide too.”

“You’re using a name from a Neimoidian Sparks book.”

“So are you.”

“And look where it got me.”

“It got you someone who can watch your back while you get a good night’s sleep,” Aava says quietly. She takes a step towards the bed, and then another. Leenik glances away, and she stops moving. “I don’t know where I’m going after this, and I don’t know where you’re going either. But you haven’t been on your own for a long time, and you need someone to watch your back.”

“That’s not as true as you think,” Leenik says, but his voice is thick. Aava doesn’t know his history with the rebellion, but she knows he was with them for years. He’s had people for a long time, no matter what he had before that. “Why should I trust you?”

“Don’t you trust me already?”

He looks at her and opens his mouth. She thinks he’s going to answer, is  _ sure _ he’s going to say that he doesn’t, but he abruptly climbs into the bed, facing away from her. He pulls a corner of the blankets up over his shoulders, wriggling until he’s comfortable.

Aava takes that as her cue to dim the lights. But she leaves the ones in the bathroom on, just enough that she can see. She carefully slips her shoes off and takes them in one hand as she walks to the bed. There’s no way to watch the window and the door at the same time, so she settles on the floor facing the door, with her back to the mattress and the window.

“I kick in my sleep,” Leenik mumbles. He already sounds more asleep than awake. “And scream, sometimes.”

Aava hums quietly. “I’ll wake you up in four hours.”

Leenik makes a tiny noise that she can’t quite parse, halfway between a sob and acquiescence, and then goes quiet. Aava settles in further against the bed, checks to make sure her lightsaber is still there, checks at the comm she stole to message Zero, and crosses her legs. The room is quiet, except for the steady hum of the bathroom light and Leenik’s soft breathing.

He’s not asleep, not yet, but he will be soon. And Aava has to admit, she feels better knowing she won’t be alone if anyone ambushes them.

She closes her eyes and inhales, slowly, reaching out into the Force. She can feel it pulsing around her, welcoming her back into the fold, and for the first time in days she lets herself relax. She takes another deep, slow breath, reaches further into the Force, only barely hears Leenik say, quietly, “Thank you.”

Aava smiles.

 

#

 

A,

I can’t say I’m happy to see you go, but I understand. Your boss was a total lunatic, so it’s probably good you got out of dodge. It sounds like you made one hell of an exit. I’m proud of you. But be careful out there, yeah? Even vacation planets can be unfriendly to people like us these days. Wish I was there to look out for you, even though I know you can look out for yourself.

It’s been a rough few days. S isn’t taking your departure well, although I think you could’ve guessed that. I’m not even going to try to explain to him why you left. B is a little more understanding, but I haven’t told him you wrote to me yet. He might be jealous you chose me and not him, and that’s just a risk I don’t want to take. Don’t worry, I’m making sure both of them sleep and eat like normal people (well, as close to normal as possible).

It’s a big galaxy, A. I won’t ask you to come home. Just make good choices. Don’t be an idiot out there.

Love,

Z

 

#

 

“It’s been four hours,” Leenik says, at some point. Aava’s not sure how long he’s been awake, or for that matter how long he was really asleep. She’s not even sure if it’s actually been four hours. All she knows is that he sits up and swings his legs over the side of the bed so he’s facing the door, feet dangling by Aava’s shoulder. “My turn to keep watch.”

“You have a lightsaber.” Aava looks up at him. He looks just as frozen as she expected, like he hadn’t somehow guessed that she would be able to tell. “Is it yours?”

“Not quite.”

“Whose?”

“Inquisitor Sadet.”

Aava’s eyebrows rise, not quite of her own volition. “So you killed them.”

Leenik looks away. “I think technically Tryst killed them.”

“And you took their lightsaber?”

“I think I liked it better when you weren’t asking questions.”

Aava laughs, before she can help it. Leenik whips around to stare at her, and Aava wants to apologize or say she’ll stop asking questions for now, but all she can do is giggle helplessly. Kriff, she’s tired, and she sags against the bed, beaming up at Leenik, still laughing.

Slowly, his mouth twitches into a smile, and he slides off the bed and onto the floor next to her. “Aava?”

“Yeah, bright eyes?”

“I missed you.”

Aava manages to stop laughing at that. She rests one hand on his knee and squeezes. “I missed you too, Leenik.”

Leenik stares at her hand for a few seconds before slowly, carefully lacing his fingers with hers. He doesn’t do anything more, just lets their hands rest there for a few seconds. The Force swims around them, the bathroom light buzzes, and for a moment the world is no bigger than the two of them on the motel floor.

“Can I go with you?” Leenik asks. His voice stays steady, but she can hear the strain in it.

Carefully, she leans over until her head is resting on his shoulder. “Where did you want to go?”

“Away.”

“How far?”

“Far enough away that you and I won’t get weird looks. But not so far that we can never come back.”

Aava pauses. “You mean not so far that  _ you _ can never come back.”

“Don’t you want to come back?”

“Back here, to Arreyel? Or to what I’m running from?”

“Either, I guess.” Leenik tips his head over so his cheek is resting on top of her head. “You left everything behind. There has to be something worth coming back to one day.”

Aava thinks, for a split second, about Zero’s message. “Maybe one day. If it’s ever safe for me.”

“You don’t think it will be.”

“And you’re planning on coming back.”

“I’m not planning on it, I just don’t want to close that door.”

“Aren’t you worried that you already closed the door?”

“No,” Leenik says, with such honest certainty that Aava’s heart aches. “I think I just need to explain. And apologize.”

Aava wishes, desperately, that she had people who could listen to her explanations, even if there was no forgiveness at the end. She misses Grizelle. She misses feeling like she had people on her side. Maybe she just misses having a side to be on.

“You should sleep in the bed,” Leenik says after a minute. “I brought a book, I’ll be fine.”

Aava smiles. “Neimoidian Sparks?”

“Yeah, a couple of his. Plus some of Dantooine Brown ones that I picked up at a spaceport.”

“Ooh, adventure novels, how exciting.”

“I could use a little excitement that isn’t my real life.” He squeezes her hand before untangling his fingers. “Use the bed.”

“Bossy,” she murmurs, but she pushes herself up onto the mattress. “Wake me if you get bored.”

“I brought a book,” Leenik says again, so blatantly puzzled that she has to stifle a laugh. “Like, five books. I’m not gonna get bored.”

“I know.” Aava brushes the back of her hand against his shoulder. “But I’m here in case you do.”

“It’s Neimoidian Sparks,” he says impatiently, and Aava’s heart clenches. There he is. He’s himself again. “I’m not going- are you even listening to me? You know what, go to sleep. When you’re awake enough to listen, I’ll explain to you why you should be reading more Neimoidian Sparks.”

“I already have.”

“What?”

“I already-” she has to stifle a yawn. Even just lying down has reminded her how exhausted she is. “You recommended  _ Dusk on an Alien World  _ and the sequel. I was halfway through  _ The Whispering Sadness _ before I had to leave. I didn’t have time to grab it from my room, or any of my other things.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“We can find you another copy. It’s a bestseller.”

Aava nods to herself, chin bobbing against her chest. “Thank you, Leenik.”

“I don’t know why you’re thanking me,” Leenik starts, but it’s already hazy, and Aava lets the sleep swallow her up.

 

#

 

A,

Are you on Trandosha?

Z

 

#

 

A,

You need to go.

Z

 

#

 

I’m calling you.

 

#

 

She’s not sure what wakes her up: her comm ringing with some obnoxious default alarm tone, Leenik pressing it into her hand, or the nausea curling in the pit of her stomach. All she knows is that she goes from asleep to alert faster than she has in years.

“You have a call,” Leenik says, sort of unnecessarily. He looks worried, perched on the foot of her bed. His empty hand falls to the mattress. “I didn’t know you took a comm with you.”

“It’s a burner,” she murmurs, and flips it on. “Zero?”

“Oh, thank kriff,” Zero mutters, and as sure as Aava is that something is wrong, something affectionate settles in her chest. Like something she hadn’t fully realized was missing is back where it belongs. “Listen to me, Synox is on his way to Trandosha right now, you need to get off planet.”

“Trandosha?”

“Yeah, so it’s time for you to-”

“I’m not on Trandosha,” Aava says slowly.

Zero stops short. He takes a breath, so deep and shaky that Aava can hear it, can imagine the tension in his shoulders. He’s not afraid, Zero isn’t afraid of much, but he’s definitely worried. “You’re not on Trandosha.”

“No, I’m not.”

“What’s Trandosha?” Leenik asks, looking confused. “Is this the guy who cut my arm off?”

Aava covers the speaker of the comm for a second. “It’s a forest planet, Mid Rim. And yes, it is.”

“Oh.” Leenik considers that. “If I’m rogue now, does that mean he’s on the same side as me?”

“Not really, no.”

“Can you tell him I say hi anyways?”

“Are you with someone?” Zero demands. “How did- you’ve been gone for less than a week!”

“I ran into an old friend.” Aava pauses, weighing the pros and cons of revealing Leenik’s identity.

Leenik’s right that if he isn’t a rebel he’s not directly Zero’s enemy anymore. But even if Leenik doesn’t hold a grudge, she knows Zero’s not a fan of the Mynock after what they did to Blue. It’s not worth endangering her only contact left in the Empire. Or her only remaining friendship.

“Why is Sy going to Trandosha?” she asks instead.

“He got some kind of report that you were there, I don’t know.”

“But I’m not there.”

“We could go there,” Leenik says. “Once they’re gone, I mean.”

Aava frowns. “Z, hold on a second.” She mutes her comm and sits up to look at Leenik. “Why would we go directly where they’re looking for us?”

“Because they won’t send a search party to the same place twice.” Leenik screws up his face and puffs his chest. “It’s inefficient,” he says, in the worst mockery of a clone accent that she’s ever heard.

“So if we go once they leave, then they won’t come back for us.”

“It’s the perfect hiding spot.” Leenik gives her a little triumphant smile.

“Bright eyes, I’m so glad you’re here with me,” Aava says with feeling. Leenik’s expression starts to morph into shock, so she unmutes her comm. “Can you tell us when Trandosha is clear?”

“When it’s clear?” Zero repeats. “Hold on, us? Are you actually travelling with this old friend?”

“It’s not safe to be out here alone.”

“It’s also not safe to be out there with someone you don’t trust.”

Aava looks back at Leenik, who slides off the bed back to the floor and picks up his datapad. It looks like he’s going back to his book, content to let her have her conversation. “Well, I trust him. Can you give us a heads-up when Trandosha is clear?”

“Why?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

Zero sighs. “Right. We’re on different sides now.”

“Not that. There are ears everywhere. I’d tell you if I could.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll give you a signal.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re safe?”

She glances around the hotel room. “As safe as safe gets. How’s Blue?”

“In one piece, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“And if that’s not what I’m asking?”

“He’s in political trouble,” Zero says frankly, and Aava frowns. “You made appearances with him at galas and in public settings. His reputation is linked to yours. He’s got a lot to deal with now that you’ve gone rogue. Also, don’t check the news. Blue’s saying a lot of nasty things about you.”

“He said a lot of nasty things about me to my face.”

“Yeah, but it’s a different kind of nasty. I’m not sure how much of it he even believes. He knew about Louphan trying to kill us; he’s just doing what he needs to do to keep his job and save face.”

“Is it working?”

Zero pauses, far too long for the answer to be anything other than no.

Aava closes her eyes. “Is he in danger?”

“Not with me here.”

“Are you in danger?”

“Baby, I am the danger,” Zero says. Aava wants to laugh, but she knows with a sudden, sickening conviction that she put him and Blue in a legitimately dangerous position. “Don’t worry about us right now. I kill people for a living. I’m not gonna let anything happen to him or me.”

“I know.”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“Not a lot is sure right now.”

“Then let that much be sure. We’re going to be fine.”

“I want to believe you,” Aava says honestly. “I would really, really like to believe you.”

“Then do.” Zero sighs. “I have to go.”

“Thank you for calling me.”

“I’ll try and give you that heads-up you asked for.”

“I’ll try and stop making trouble for you two.”

Zero snorts. “Yeah, whatever you say. And watch your back out there. It’s a scary galaxy.”

“They should be scared of me,” Aava says primly. Zero laughs quietly, and the line closes with a soft beep. She closes her eyes, just briefly. She misses him. It would be so much better, so much easier if she had him watching her back. “Damn it.”

Leenik doesn’t so much as look up from his book. “Everything okay?”

“It could be worse.” Aava flops back on the bed and looks up at the ceiling. “We probably need to wait a couple days to go to Trandosha.”

“Probably.”

“Did you want to wait here?”

“Does it make a difference?”

Aava thinks about it. “If we’re stationary, we’re more likely to get caught.”

“But people in spaceports are probably looking for us.”

“So staying here is a good bet.”

“We can extend our stay at this inn.”

“And you can tell me about the lightsaber you took from Inquisitor Sadet.”

Leenik stills. “Do I have to?”

Aava mulls that over. “No, you don’t. But if you’re going to have a lightsaber with you then maybe you should have an experienced Force user help you figure out how to use it.”

“I know how to use it.” He pauses, long enough that Aava decides the conversation must be over, and then he puts the datapad down. “Lyn said that if a kyber crystal is red it means the saber is corrupted.”

“Corrupted is a strong word.”

“But that’s why your lightsaber is red. Because you’re forcing it to do what you want to do.”

“I haven’t worked much with kyber crystals,” Aava hedges. It’s a matter of framing, she supposes. She had never thought of the red blade as being an act of violence. “What’s the problem with the red kyber crystals?”

“They asked me to fix it.”

“To fix the red crystal?”

“Yeah.” Leenik looks up at her beseechingly. “Is it wrong that I don’t want to?”

Aava sighs. “C’mere, bright eyes.”

Leenik stares at her uncomprehendingly. “Like… in the bed with you?”

“If we’re going to have an uncomfortable conversation, we might as well be as comfortable as possible.”

Leenik blinks, then shrugs and climbs into the bed. He lies down on his side, facing Aava, and Aava rolls onto her side to face him, head propped up on one elbow. She arches an eyebrow. “You don’t want to fix the lightsaber.”

“I don’t like the idea of the crystal deciding if I’m good or bad.”

“Does being good matter to you?”

“Not the same way it matters to everyone else.” Leenik rolls onto his back. “Do you think there’s something wrong with me?”

“I think there’s probably something wrong with everyone in the galaxy,” Aava answers honestly. “But I don’t think it’s wrong for you to want to struggle with morality. It’s difficult to grasp sometimes. It’s slippery.”

“Nobody else seems to have a problem with it.”

“Not everyone has the same moral center.”

“So do you think there’s something wrong with me for having a different moral center?”

Aava laughs helplessly. “You’re asking me to be your moral compass? I worked for the Empire for years. I only left because they tried to kill me.”

“But you could go back.” Leenik looks at her searchingly. “Right?”

“That’s a tough question.”

“It’s a yes or no question.”

“And it’s a tough yes or no question. They might take me back. They also might try and kill me again. I don’t know if that’s a risk I’d like to take.”

“Okay.” Leenik goes back to staring at the ceiling. “Are you going to make me fix the saber?”

“Do you want to fix the saber?”

“I want to go home,” Leenik says, and she can hear how his voice just barely doesn’t crack. “And if that’s what I have to do, then I’ll do it.”

“Do you think they wouldn’t take you back if you don’t fix the saber?”

“They were so upset with me.” He flings his metal arm across his eyes, but she can see that his eyes are still wide open. “They were worried about me hurting people. I think they were afraid of me.”

“You don’t want them to be afraid of you.”

“Of course not.”

“Then I think the question is pretty clear.” Aava rolls onto her back, looks up at the ceiling, tries to imagine what could’ve possibly led to Leenik leaving. She’s sure they’re not as upset as Leenik thinks they are. She doesn’t know the Mynock well, not as a unit, but they don’t seem like the kind of people who would give up on Leenik, of all people. “Does being home matter to you more than sticking to your guns about this saber?”

“Yes,” Leenik says, without hesitation. “Yeah, it really does, it- can you teach me how to do it?”

“You think I’m qualified to help you purify a kyber crystal?”

“I think you’re my best option right now.”

“I’m your only option right now.”

Leenik smiles, half-hidden by his arm. “Yeah, exactly.”

Aava sighs theatrically. “Well, with stiff competition like that, how can I say no?”

“You’ll do it?”

“I’ll try. I’ll teach you meditation, if nothing else. We’ll start small.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I woke you up early.” He reaches one arm over the edge of the bed and feels around for a second before picking up his datapad. “You can go back to sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

“Are you sure? You need to get some sleep too.”

“I’ll sleep later.” He lifts his metal hand and finds Aava’s hand, resting on the mattress between them. “You first. If we’re staying here, I can sleep later.”

“Okay,” she whispers.

Aava doesn’t know what she’s doing, she realizes. She’s in a hotel room with one of her best friends who was, up until recently, her enemy. And she’s promising to teach him something that she’s not sure she can follow through on. But he’s holding her hand, and in this moment, maybe that’s going to be enough.

 

#

 

A,

It was nice talking to you, even if I kriffed up the timing a little bit. That shipment you were asking about leaves tonight, so you should be in the clear if that’s what you’re waiting for.

Earlier today B called you the best witch he’s ever met. You know how he gets in the early mornings, when he hasn’t had his third cup of caf yet. So sentimental. I think he misses you.

Love,

Z

 

#

 

“Last name?”

“Lissiri. The room is under my husband’s name.”

“Bellek Lissiri?” The woman behind the desk - much younger than the man from last night, but with the same slope to her nose and the same lilting accent - raises her eyebrows. “Are you a Neimoidian Sparks fan, Missus Lissiri?”

“Never read his books,” Aava lies. “Always seemed a little too mushy for me.”

“Whatever you say, Missus. How long are you extending?”

“One more night. We’ll be leaving in the morning.”

The woman nods and punches something in on her datapad. “One more night’ll be sixty creds.”

Aava hands over a few credit chips, both hers and Leenik’s pooled together. “Do you get a lot of tourists?”

“On Arreyel?” The woman snorts. “Are you here for tourism?”

“Just a stop along the way.”

“Yeah, that’s about right. Most everyone here is on their way to somewhere else.”

“But not you.”

The woman looks at her strangely. “Course not. It’s my home.”

Aava nods, feeling suddenly out of place. She doesn’t have much of a home, she supposes. There’s always Dathomir, there’s always Coruscant, there’s always the Empire, but none of those are hers. Not in the way that Arreyel is clearly this woman’s. Certainly not in the way that the Mynock is Leenik’s.

The woman must sense that Aava doesn’t know what to say, because she softens. “Your extension’s gone through. You need a list of places to get food?”

Leenik had had the foresight to take ration packs from the Mynock. Aava had stuffed the pockets of her stolen cloak with ration packs, but she’s running low. They have to be smart with their money, but fresh food might be worth some credits. “That would be great, thank you.”

The woman goes fishing under the desk and comes up with a piece of flimsi, ripped around the edges and with a caf spill staining half of it. “There you go. Restaurants, cantinas, takeout, and grocery stores. Let us know if you need anything else.”

“You’re too kind.”

“Doin’ my job, ma’am.” The woman smiles, and it’s easy for Aava to smile back. To pretend that she is as grounded and as kind as this stranger is.

 

#

 

Z,

Thanks for the heads-up. My new friend and I are going to try and follow that shipment tomorrow morning, heading off planet. I think he’ll be sticking with me for a little while. He’s smart, don’t worry. And it was nice talking to you, although you know we have to be discreet about it. You know why I had to change my number, after all.

B’s idea of sentimentality has never made much sense to me, but I suppose that’s sweet of him. You really ought to start weaning him off that caf, though. It stunts growth, and since he’s still a baby, he can’t afford that.

On second thought, give him more caf. He’s too tall already.

Love,

A

 

#

 

Leenik holds the first kyber crystal gingerly between two fingers. “How long is the process supposed to take?”

“Not that long.” Aava frowns, looking at the dismantled pieces of Sadet’s lightsaber, lying across the floor. “Do you want me to put this back together as one saber with two blades or two singles?”

“You can do that?”

“I can try.”

Leenik sits down across from Aava, all the lightsaber components spread out between them. “It’s all so much… smaller than I expected.”

“What do you mean?”

“These are supposed to be the weapons that changed the world.” He leans down and places the kyber crystal in the middle of the spread, next to its sister. “And here we are, looking at all the pieces in a weird motel room. It’s not as grand as I thought it’d be. And the crystals are so small.”

“They are pretty small,” Aava allows. “Have you used any of those meditation books I gave you on Phindar?”

“I’ve looked through them a little bit.”

“And?”

Leenik sighs. “It’s hard.”

“What’s hard?”

“Clearing my mind. And being thoughtful.”

“Did you try just focusing on your breathing?”

Leenik stares at her. “Do you need to think about it when you breathe? Isn’t that automatic for you?”

“Bright eyes.” Aava leans across the lightsaber pieces to put a hand on Leenik’s knee, and he leans in so that his face is close to hers. “It’s not about that.”

“Then I don’t think I understand what it’s about.”

“It’s about connecting with the things that are automatic to you. Like you said, it’s about being thoughtful, and finding a way to bring that thoughtfulness to the forefront.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then we’ll find another way.”

“What if there is no other way?”

Aava lifts her hand from Leenik’s knee to cup his face, just for a second. “There’s always another way.”

Leenik, as expected leans back, and Aava does the same.

“Okay. Breathing,” he says. “I can do that. Is this going to be one of those things that Tryst talks about where you count your breaths? Like, you breathe in for seven, hold it for sixty-nine, and then breathe out for seven?”

“Hold for-” Aava scrunches up her face automatically. “First of all, that is too long to hold your breath, and I think that’s Tryst being Tryst. And second of all, no, that’s not how we’ll be doing it. I want you to breathe as deeply as you possible, at whatever pace works for you. Just focus on your chest rising and falling.”

“For how long?”

“Until I say stop. Or until you can’t anymore.”

“Until I can’t breathe?” Leenik shakes his head. “You Force people, I’m telling you, you’re all out of your minds.”

“Leenik.”

“Fine.” He closes his eyes. “Don’t let me do this forever.”

“Never,” Aava promises.

She waits until Leenik is a few breaths in - good, deep breaths, getting steadier with each one - to close her eyes and reach one hand over the saber components. They’d agreed that Aava should be the one to reassemble Sadet’s lightsaber for Leenik, if only because she built her own lightsaber. It’s been years since then, but she supposes it’s like riding a hovercycle. She hopes that she hasn’t forgotten how to do it, and if she has, then she mostly just hopes that she doesn’t blow anything up.

Aava reaches into the Force and thinks about Leenik, sitting across from her, saying he wants to be better, not fully understanding what that means. She reaches into the Force and thinks, carefully,  _ be what he needs. _

And slowly, she feels the Force begin to reach back.

 

#

 

A,

If I give him any more caf, I think he’s going to vibrate right out of existence. It’s gotten worse lately. I think he’s stressed. As his security, I’ve been stopping some unhappy clients, and I don’t think he’s handling the pressure well. Even with me here screening people, he’s getting antsy. And some of his visitors have been attacking him viciously. It’s been a rough couple of days. We might have to go to ground, so if I go AWOL, don’t assume the worst. Not immediately, at least.

Shipment left ahead of schedule, the loading dock is clear. You know transports aren’t always safe these days, so watch out just in case.

Love,

Z

 

#

 

Leenik flicks the first lightsaber on and frowns. “It’s still red.”

Aava blinks. “Of course it’s still red.”

“Why is it still red?”

“We haven’t tried to purify it.”

“You mean you weren’t trying to purify it while you were assembling it?”

“My only goal was to put the saber together. Purifying the crystal is something you have to do on your own.”

Leenik moves the lightsaber in a slow figure-8, carefully avoiding Aava and any of the furniture. The red leaves a trail in the air behind it, and she can feel the power of it, the thrum of the crystal in the midst of the Force. “Don’t you want to fix yours?”

“I don’t consider that to be fixing it.”

“Do you feel like you’re hurting it?”

Aava’s hand goes to her hip, where her own lightsaber is sitting, tucked away. “I think that that’s a particular narrative, and not one that’s kind to people like me.”

“What, Dathomirians?”

“Dark side users.”

Leenik pauses, saber pointed out to one side. “You said on Phindar that you think the dark side is more powerful.”

“I do.”

“So you think that the red lightsaber is a sign of power?”

“That’s what I was taught.” Aava pauses and tries - carefully, tentatively - to call up the memories of assembling her first lightsaber. “The crystals are naturally attuned to the light side of the Force. I was taught that your blade turned red once you had fully asserted your dominance over it as a dark side user. It’s not a matter of hurting the crystal, or a matter of right or wrong. It’s just the side of the Force that you use.”

“But the crystal thinks you’re wrong.”

“A lot of people think I’m wrong.”

“Does it bother you?” Leenik turns the lightsaber off and picks up its sister, never making eye contact. “That people think you’re wrong.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

He turns on the lightsaber and holds it carefully in front of his face, like he’s trying to examine the light. It’s solid red, just like its sister. “You also said on Phindar that you thought I was the bad guy.”

“You wanna know a secret, Leenik?”

“I’m not great with secrets.”

“I don’t think there are a lot of good guys or bad guys. I think a lot of us are just doing what we can.”

“Do you think I’m good?”

“I think you could be,” Aava answers before she can stop herself.

Leenik freezes and slowly looks at her. His whole face is still glowing red with the saber. All she can see is red, and him. “What does that mean?”

“You’re a killer, Leenik.”

“So are you.”

“I don’t enjoy it.”

“I-” Leenik swallows. “But you have killed a lot of innocent people. You tried to take Tamlin away.”

“You took him away from me. Grizelle took him away from me.”

“Do you think you’re good?”

“No,” Aava says resolutely.

Leenik’s eyes widen, and for a second she wishes she could take it back. She knows that Leenik is… not fragile, per se, but certainly set in his ways. He has his ideas about good and bad, even if they’re not perfectly aligned with the rest of his crew’s. And despite everything she is, he thinks that she’s good.

She doesn’t want to take that away, but she has to. “I don’t think I’m a good person.”

“Do you want to be?”

“There are a lot of things I want to be. Alive, mostly.”

“But you don’t care if you’re good.”

“Not particularly.”

Leenik retracts the lightsaber, and Aava blinks at the sudden loss of light in the room. When she can finally see clearly again, Leenik looks sad. “I wish I didn’t care.”

“I know you do.”

“I don’t know how to fix this.”

“You don’t have to know yet.”

“Can you stop acting like everything is okay?”

“Do you want me to act like it’ll never be okay again?” Aava props her elbows on her knees and leans forward, and Leenik turns away. “Because I can do that. I can tell you that you have ruined everything, and that you can never be forgiven, and you’ll never be good, not at what you do, not as a person.”

Leenik flinches. “Don’t say that.”

“Which part?”

“I am a good bounty hunter.”

“What, are you touchy about what you do?”

“My brother said it to me,” he says tightly. “The last thing he said to me was- why am I telling you this?”

_ Because you have nobody else to tell, _ Aava thinks faintly, but she manages to hold it in. “Fine. But my point still stands. I can be unkind to you if you want, if it would make you more comfortable. You’re living your life on the run now. You might never really be comfortable again.”

“So why aren’t you doing that?”

“Because you deserve kindness.”

Leenik launches himself to his feet, stumbling forward. He drops the lightsaber with a thud, leaving it in front of Aava. “I need some air.”

“Be careful out there.”

“Please,” Leenik says quietly, but she can’t be sure what he means by that. And she doesn’t have time to ask before he spins on his heel and goes for the door.

She closes her eyes as the door opens and closes behind him. Leenik needs stability right now, but she’s not sure that she’s the right kind of stable for him.

After a minute, Aava reaches out and takes the dropped lightsaber in her hand, turning it over. It doesn’t look anything like hers. Her lightsaber is sleek, compact, something that fits in with the way she fights. Leenik’s is bulkier, made to be used two-handed, much less delicate. Maybe she shaped it; maybe the Force shaped it, with whatever it thinks Leenik is.

She lays it back on the ground next to its sister. A second lightsaber would come in handy for her, especially with all the risks she’s running lately, but both of them are designed like they’re for Leenik. She can’t take what the Force has decided is his. It was always his, anyways. She gets the feeling that he needs it more than she does right now.

Aava’s comm bleeps quietly, and she sighs and reaches out blindly for it. With a little help from the Force it snaps into her hand, and she opens the message to see what Zero says.

_ Urgent _

Aava frowns. Calling is a risk, but that’s ominous enough that it might be worth a shot.

Zero picks up on the first ring. “Assailant is mobile, coordinates en route to you, what’s your ETA?”

“ETA? Zero-”

“Copy that.” There’s the sound of blaster fire, and heavy breathing.

Aava raises her eyebrows. “Are you pretending to call for backup in the middle of a shootout?”

“Roger that, 10-4, uh-” There’s some more blaster fire. Aava rolls her eyes. “Can I get, uh, additional troops-”

“Do you actually need backup for this fight?”

“That would be a negative.”

“So you’re trying to scare someone who’s trying to kill Blue.”

“Confirmed.”

“You’re the most ridiculous person I know.” Aava uncrosses her legs and pulls her knees up to her chest. She trusts Zero’s competence without hesitation, but that doesn’t mean she wants to hear her friend in the middle of a firefight that she can’t help with. “Why do you need me on the line?”

“Belay that.” Zero grunts loudly, and Aava hears something that is most definitely a sword going into something fleshy. When he comes back, he sounds a little more like himself. “Okay, yeah, they’re dead. I tried to call Blue to tell him to lock himself in his office, but he didn’t respond, so I figured I’d make sure communications weren’t jammed.”

“Why didn’t you just say that?”

“Less fun than making them think I had backup coming. It really threw them off.”

“Ridiculous,” Aava repeats. “Why didn’t you call for real backup?”

“The Imperials aren’t exactly rushing to our defense these days.”

“Is Blue okay?”

Zero sighs. “We’ve gone from an attempt on his life every month or two to this being our third one today. He’s fine, but I don’t know how long we can keep this up. It’s really not safe for him.”

“Or you.”

“My job is to be unsafe so he can be safe.” Zero pauses, and Aava can hear what he’s not saying: it’s more than just a job. It’s Blue. “I’m sorry to make you call again. I know you’re trying to be untraceable, but Blue’s security is top-notch.”

“I know it is. Has he considered a second bodyguard?”

Zero makes an indignant noise. “You think I can’t do it? And you think he’s going to trust someone else with his life? I’ve been with him for years.”

“Good point,” Aava admits. “Still, if this is a problem, think about alternatives here. I’m not big on the idea of either of you getting killed because I ran away.”

“It’s not just because of you,” Zero says, in what has to be the most obvious lie Aava has heard all day. “He has enemies, and some of them just sensed weakness, so they’re pouncing. You don’t get all the credit.”

“If you insist.”

Zero chuckles quietly, but she can still feel the tension on the other end of the line. “Aava, listen, I know you’re-”

“Aava?” Blue’s voice says faintly on the other side of the line, and Aava can here Zero’s jaw clamp shut with a click. She wants to say something, but suddenly she can’t breathe. For a second she thinks she imagined it, but then she hears Blue say, voice dangerous, “Did you just say Aava?”

“You’re supposed to be in your office,” Zero says slowly. “Didn’t you get-”

“I got your call, I knew you would take care of it. Are you in contact with Aava?”

Zero doesn’t answer. She can hear him breathing, forcibly steady. He doesn’t like to lie to Blue if he doesn’t have to, and she’s not sure if he thinks he has to right now.

“Answer me,” Blue snaps.

“Zero,” Aava says quietly. “Hang up.”

“I can explain,” Zero says, with a touch of desperation. “I-”

“Hang up,” Aava repeats forcefully, and the line shuts off. She immediately drops her head into her hands.

Blue knows. Blue knows that she’s out there, and that Zero is in touch with her. It’s not that she thinks he’s going to go running straight to the Empire, not if it puts Zero on the line, but it would gain him a lot of goodwill to turn her in. She considers him a friend, sure, but his career comes first, and that’s always been the case. And with his career on life support because of her, it’d be easy for him to turn her in and get things back on track.

“Kriff,” Aava mutters, and climbs to her feet. She can’t stay here, cooped up. She needs air. She needs to get out of this room. She grabs her cloak and throws it over her shoulders and stalks out, without a second thought.

“Missus Lissiri?”

Aava barely remembers to stop and turn to the woman behind the desk, who’s giving her an altogether too-knowing look. “Yes?”

“Your husband left in a tiff a few minutes ago, is everything alright?”

Leenik. That’s right. She can’t just run away, and there’s nothing in the room to indicate that she hasn’t just walked out on him. “Lover’s quarrel.”

The woman nods knowingly. Aava wishes it were as simple as that. “Pa said the two of you arrived separately.”

“We both chose the same inn for our getaways,” Aava says. It’s not untrue, which makes it easier. “Makes it a little harder to get our space.”

The woman clucks her tongue in sympathy. “Well, he was saying something about groceries when he left, so you might have the room to yourself for a little while.”

“Groceries,” Aava repeats. Damn it, that’s a good idea for getting out and staying out. She should’ve thought of that herself. “Well, I think I’m going to go for a walk.”

“Out here?”

“I could use some air. If he gets back before I do, let him know I’ll be back soon.”

The woman gives Aava a look that is far too soft and understanding. She doesn’t know what this woman thinks she knows about the situation; even though she’s most certainly wrong, it’s uncomfortable for Aava to face this level of empathy.

“I’ll let him know,” the woman promises, and Aava nods stiffly before leaving the inn. Arreyel is a dusty, empty planet, and the inn is in a spaceport town. There’s not much for Aava to find or explore, so she picks the direction with the least buildings on the horizon and starts walking. She needs a little emptiness. Sometimes it’s easier, being alone.

 

#

 

Z,

I know it’s too much to ask for a warning again, but here I am, asking. I will never call you again if that’s what you need, but just tell me if I need to run. You’re in a difficult position. Do what’s best for you.

A

 

#

 

Leenik looks up at her as Aava enters the room, dust-covered and breathless. “It’s been hours.”

“I had a bad phone call.” She plops down on the floor across from him. There’s a spread of groceries, nothing too fancy but all non-perishables. Things that would be easy to pack up and take on the run. “You got good food.”

“I’ve lived on the run for a long time. I know what we need to survive.” He holds out a piece of bread with tok nut butter, which she takes with a smile. “Where did you go?”

“I just walked.”

“What was the bad phone call?”

“I might’ve lost my last contact.” She takes a bite of the bread, eyeing Leenik with some trepidation. “How are you doing?”

He shrugs. “Where are we going after this?”

“I thought we decided Trandosha.”

Leenik shakes his head. “I don’t mean- not physical location. What are we doing? Are we just going to be running forever?”

Aava frowns. “Isn’t that the plan?”

“I can’t do this forever.”

“You want to go back to the Mynock, you said that earlier.”

“I want-” Leenik swallows. “I don’t know what I want. But it feels unfair to you not to tell you up front that I don’t want to spend forever with just you, on the run from everyone and everything. It’s okay for now, but not forever.”

Aava nods slowly. “You want to fix the lightsabers and go home.”

“And you don’t want me to.”

“Of course I do.”

“No,” Leenik says. “You don’t want to be alone. I’m the only thing between you and being alone.”

Aava opens her mouth, but all of her arguments vanish immediately. The problem is, he’s not entirely wrong. She can survive on her own, but she hasn’t had to, not for the long-term. It’s going to be different with him gone. She doesn’t know what groceries are best to get on the run. She doesn’t even have a change of clothes, or a ship, or a bag to carry her things in.

Leenik must know that she has no response, because he sits back on his heels and looks away. “Can you help me fix the lightsabers?”

“Why does that matter so much?” Aava says in exasperation. “If it only matters to you because it matters to the crew, maybe you have different priorities. That’s not a bad thing.”

“It’s a bad thing if it means I can’t go home.”

“People leave home all the time.”

“Like how you’re leaving the Empire?”

Aava reels back, stunned. “Me leaving a regime that actively tried to kill me isn’t the same as you running away because you have a petty moral difference.”

“It doesn’t feel petty,” Leenik snaps. “Bacta has a lightsaber, and he was  _ furious _ that I started turning it red.”

That part is new information. Aava frowns. “You started turning another blade red?”

“Yeah, and now he’s mad at me. The morals are a sacrifice worth making for my people.” Leenik looks away. “Maybe you don’t have people like that, I don’t know.”

Aava lets out a breath. It’s not that he’s wrong, but it still stings. “Maybe the person I’m making that sacrifice for is myself.”

“Is it better?” Leenik turns back to her and catches her gaze, looking at her like he’s searching for something. “Is making that sacrifice better for you?”

“I don’t know,” Aava says evenly. “All I know is I’m tired of being beholden to what other people want from me. I’m deciding for myself from now on. If you’re doing this because you think it’s what other people want to do, then that’s not fair to yourself.”

“It’s different when it’s family,” Leenik says at last. “Trust me.”

Aava purses her lips. That one hurt more than she expected. She had a family, once upon a time. She had Grizelle, and countless other Nightsisters, and now she doesn’t.

She’s not sure what she would do for those sisters, or what she would do if she disagreed. Grizelle turning her back on the Nightsisters had felt like an immeasurable betrayal at the time, but she understands now. Time has brought her that understanding, and more than that, time has brought her the ability to see that she could’ve been wrong all those years ago.

And now she has no family. Who is she to judge how Leenik handles his?

She puts the bread down. “I think I’m going to sleep.”

Leenik immediately looks sorry. “Are you sure-”

“I could use the rest,” Aava says gently, leaving as little room for argument as possible. “I can eat on my watch. And something tells me you need some more time by yourself.”

He glances away. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Aava murmurs, and gets to her feet as gracefully as possible. There’s something rolling in the pit of her stomach, a kind of unease that she hasn’t felt in a long time, but she can write it off as exhaustion. She hasn’t had a full night’s sleep in days. And she walked through the dust, and she is alone. She could use the rest.

Leenik doesn’t look at her as she climbs into bed. Aava closes her eyes and tries to steady her breathing. She’s tired, but she still can’t sleep, no matter how still she lies. She’s finally sliding into the twilight of rest when Leenik softly begins to cry.

 

#

 

From: Unknown

You should be more careful.

 

#

The changing of the guard is practically silent. Leenik barely looks at her as he slides under the covers, and it’s less than twenty minutes before he’s fast asleep. Aava waits until she’s sure that he’s out to step outside the room. The new message is from either the Imperials or Blue, and there’s no good way to find out which it is.

In the end, she takes a deep breath and sends a simple message:  _ Call me. _ It’s a matter of seconds before her comm starts ringing.

“No fear, Aava,” she murmurs to herself, and answers the call. “You’ve reached the comm of Nikana Lissiri.”

“Have I really,” Blue drawls, and Aava’s stomach twists. “You know, your digital security is abysmal. I know exactly where you are right now.”

“Do you.”

“Yeah, I’d never even heard of Arreyel before I looked you up, but-”

“Don’t  _ say _ it,” Aava snaps before she can stop herself. There are ears everywhere, if not on Blue’s comm then wherever he is, and she can’t have the word getting out. “You should know better, come on.”

Blue snorts. “You think I didn’t secure this line, and the room I’m in? You think I didn’t triple-check everything?”

“You think I wouldn’t knock him out if he said something actually compromising?” Zero adds. Aava closes her eyes at the sound of his voice, relaxing marginally. Blue makes an indignant noise, and Aava can practically picture the way Zero shrugs in response. “Listen, I’m sorry I blew your cover-”

“Water under the bridge.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Zero says, and something in his voice makes Aava stop. “This is your safety on the line, running from people who have already tried to kill you. You were being careful, I got sloppy, and we’re lucky that the consequences weren’t as bad as they could’ve been.”

“But they’re not bad,” Blue says impatiently. “That’s why I’m calling. There’s a cargo pilot leaving Arreyel with a shipment in about an hour. He’s docked not far from where you’re staying. He’s going to receive a lot of credits for taking you to a spaceport; there’s going to be a ship waiting for you there. That one’s all yours.”

Aava takes a sharp breath before she can help herself. She leans back against the wall behind her, pressing her head against it, hoping it helps ground her. “Blue.”

“I also secured room for your plus-one, if he’s still with you, and there should be another secure comm waiting for you on the ship.”

“This is too much, Blue.”

“It’s not.”

“It’s treason.”

“I know it’s treason.”

“It’s not just treason. It’s aiding, abetting, bribery-”

“It’s your life,” Zero says firmly. “It’s worth a little rule-breaking. And besides, it is definitely not going to be the most illegal thing we do today.”

Aava frowns. “Should I be worried about you two?”

“Worry about getting off that dust trap of a planet you’re on,” Blue mutters. “Are we clear? Do you know the plan?”

“I know the plan.” Aava swallows around the sudden lump in her throat. “Blue. Thank you.”

“Next time, tell me,” Blue says, as though that makes any sense at all. But she can hear the very real hurt underneath it, and it reminds her of the gala on Coruscant.

She can still picture the bright look in his eyes as he’d realized that she and Zero were actually mad at him. There’s that same quiet, hidden undertone of devastation in his voice now. Like he’s hurt that Aava didn’t trust him. Kriff, he probably is.

“I will,” Aava promises. “Especially if it means you hook me up with a way off planet.”

“I make no promises,” Blue says, but he sounds mollified.

“You gonna be okay?” Zero asks.

Aava tries to picture them in her mind’s eye. They’re probably in Blue’s office, or maybe a smaller, more secure location. The comm is between them and they’re leaning into each other. Zero is closer to the door, angled towards it, maybe even a hand resting on his sword. She misses them both fiercely. She misses having them in the room with her, knowing that Zero had her back. It’s good to know that Blue does, too.

“I am,” Aava says. “Thank you.”

“You’re going to want to leave soon,” Blue warns her.

“And be careful,” Zero adds.

“You be careful too,” Aava says. “The Empire’s scarier than the Outer Rim these days.”

“It’s not that scary,” Blue scoffs. Aava can’t tell if that’s cockiness, confidence, or ignorance, but either way she’s smiling as she hangs up the comm.

Leenik is already sitting up in bed when she goes back into the room, looking confused. “What was that?”

“Just got a call from a friend. We have a way off planet, but we’re going to need to leave now.”

Leenik blinks. “You want me to come with you?”

“Do you want to come with me?”

“I don’t want to stay here.”

“Then yes, I want you to come with me.”

“Okay.” Leenik looks down. “I didn’t mean-”

“We can talk on the ship,” Aava says brusquely. Too brusquely, judging by the way Leenik’s shoulders hunch in. “I’m not mad at you, but we’re in a bit of a time crunch. I promise, we can actually talk about it on the ship. We just have to get there first.”

Leenik takes a deep breath and then throws the blankets off the bed. “Okay. Let’s get going.”

 

#

 

The pilot of the cargo ship doesn’t so much as look at them as they board his ship. He twitches a hand, like he’s motioning them aboard, and that’s all the acknowledgement they get. It’s an effective tactic, Aava supposes. If he’s interrogated, he’ll say that he never saw their faces. It’s true, considering that Aava has her hood up and Leenik has a wig covering half his face.

There’s a space cleared out in the hold, enough for both of them to stand and move around. There are even two makeshift seats with seatbelts propped against the back wall. Leenik drops his duffle bag and goes to one seat, but before he can sit down the intercom crackles to life.

“Technical difficulties,” says a voice that Aava can only assume is the pilot’s. “We’re going to be delayed by an hour, so get comfy.”

Leenik groans. “I could’ve slept more?”

“You can sleep now.”

“I’m not going to sleep on a strange ship.” He runs his fingers through his wig, looking frustrated. “What’s going on? You just wake me up, say we have to go-”

“Zero gave us a way off-planet.”

“You mean he gave you one.”

“He planned for you, actually.” Aava’s eyes narrow. “You don’t like traditional meditation.”

Leenik frowns at her. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Have you ever done a combat drill?”

“What, like fighting people? Yeah, I’ve fought people.”

“I mean like formally studying strategies and ways to fight.”

“Formal study? Of course not, do you think there’s a bounty hunter academy or something?”

“You’re all licensed,” Aava points out, despite her better judgment. “Grab your lightsaber. I’m going to try a different kind of meditation with you.”

“With swords?”

“Yes, with swords.”

Leenik casts a suspicious glance at her, but he rummages around in the duffle until he finds one of the lightsabers. “What are we doing?”

Aava takes out her own lightsaber and activates it. “Step back with your left foot.”

Leenik copies her and holds his own lightsaber at the ready, facing her head-on.

Aava nods. “Okay. Lift your saber over your head, and then you’re going to step forward and swing down at me, and I’m going to block you.”

“Like real fighting?”

“No, slowly. Like-” Aava mimes slowly swinging her lightsaber at Leenik. “We’ll go a little faster later, but for now do practice swings. Breathe in, and then breathe out as you swing down.”

Leenik takes a deep breath in and then steps forward with his left foot, bringing his saber down slowly.

Aava blocks him, stepping back. “Good. Now step forward with your right foot and swing up from below.”

“Does the breathing matter?”

“In as you move your saber down, out as you step and swing.”

Leenik copies her instructions exactly. “What’s the point of this?”

“It’s going to make a lot more sense in five minutes. Now I’m going to do the same thing, and you’re going to block me. Keep breathing with the motion of the sabers.”

“Motion of the sabers,” Leenik repeats to himself. “So it’s like fighting, but slower.”

“Exactly.”

“And we’re going to get into a rhythm?”

“That’s the goal.”

“Huh.” Leenik tilts his head, looking at where their sabers are still clashing. “I think I like sword meditation.”

Aava smiles, just barely. “I thought you would. Ready?”

“Ready.”

Aava inhales deeply and moves her saber above her head. She might be imagining things, but she thinks she sees a sparkle in Leenik’s eye, a real Leenik Geelo sparkle, as he moves to meet her swing.

 

#

 

A,

Something came up at home. Might be out of touch for a bit. Might be in touch differently. B sent you access and launch codes. Keep an eye out for anything new.

Love,

Z

 

#

 

Aava pulls a book off the shelf at random. “What about this one?”

Leenik takes one look at it and gags violently. “Gank Green? Really? That guy is so overrated.”

“What, you don’t like him?”

“Don’t like him? He doesn’t do anything worth liking.”

“Harsh,” Aava laughs, but she puts the book back, sliding her finger along the edge of the shelf as she walks down the aisle.

The spaceport bookstore is old, so old that Aava’s not actually sure if there’s a clerk or if it’s just abandoned. There’s dust in the air, floating between her and a still-scowling Leenik. She’s never been in a spaceport bookstore that wasn’t like this: old, full of actual flimsi books rather than datapads, full of things that don’t quite make sense together. Leenik insisted that he gets final judgment on any books that she buys, and Aava is quite honestly inclined to trust his taste.

Leenik seems a little more like himself, too, which is encouraging. They’d done combat meditation routines for almost an hour before their transport took off, and he’d enjoyed every second. His lightsaber hadn’t showed any signs of turning a new color, but he’d seemed lighter afterwards. More like himself. He spent the whole flight reading books, muttering to himself as he went. They’d arrived in the spaceport and left their things on the transport Blue got for them, and then Aava had dragged him to the bookstore.

“I know what you’re doing,” Leenik says after a second.

Aava pulls the closest book off the shelf - Jawa Grisham, an old one - and turns to face him. “What am I doing?”

Leenik winces. “You’re trying to distract me, and it’s working. Do you really like legal thrillers?”

“What’s not to like?”

“All of Jawa Grisham’s books are the same.”

“Maybe I could use a little sameness.”

“Then you need to get three of his books so you can see that they’re all the same.”

Aava shrugs and pulls a couple more Jawa Grisham books off the shelf. “Deal.”

“That’s not a good thing,” Leenik grouses. “And quit trying to distract me from the fact that you’re distracting me.”

She barely glances over her shoulder. “Is it working?”

“Can’t you tell?”

She can’t tell. They’d gotten off the transport and gone to the ship that Blue had arranged for them, which was already waiting in the dock. The port was large and empty, with only three ships in the massive hangar: their transport, their escape, and what looked like a large private shuttle.

Aava had been ready to leave, launch codes in hand, when the fourth ship arrived. She’d tried to pull Leenik out before he fully registered what he was looking at, but she’s sure that she failed. He probably recognized the Mynock long before Aava had the chance to.

“It feels nice to ask,” Aava replies, which is half true at most. She fishes in the pocket of her cloak and comes up with a few cred chips, which she tosses towards the empty cashier’s counter. There are bags by one of the shelves, and she grabs one for her books. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“I don’t want them to see me leaving.”

“You could always go and talk to them.”

Leenik pulls a face. “That might be worse than not talking to them.”

“Then we’ve narrowed down what you want to do.”

“But what if we pass them when we’re walking back to the hangar?”

“I’ll walk in front of you so you can dive into an empty room,” Aava says sardonically, but Leenik makes a face like he’s actually considering it. She doesn’t roll her eyes, but it’s a close thing. “They’re probably just worried about you.”

“I know,” Leenik mumbles, and for a split second Aava thinks that she’s going to get actual information out of him, some kind of real emotional response. But then there’s a loud laugh from outside the bookstore. Leenik freezes, then jumps behind one of the shelves.

Aava doesn’t roll her eyes, but only barely. “That doesn’t sound like one of your people.”

Leenik frowns and peers around the edge of the shelf. “I think you’re right. They look like bounty hunters.”

“Kriff,” Aava mutters, and ducks behind the shelf with Leenik. Everyone on this spaceport is a wanted criminal, her and Leenik included. And she’s willing to bet that she’s a hot target. “We need to leave.”

“What? We can’t leave.”

“We have a ship that is here specifically so we can leave.”

“But what about the crew?”

“They can take care of themselves.”

Leenik turns to her, panic written across his face. “What about Tamlin?”

That’s enough to give Aava pause. The bounty hunters might not know what an asset Tamlin is to them, but if he’s upset it won’t take long for them to figure it out. And she won’t let that happen. Judging by the look on Leenik’s face, he won’t either.

“Okay,” Aava says, and Leenik nods. “Do you want to warn the crew?”

“I want to guard the ship. They definitely left Tamlin there, and we can’t let anything happen to him.”

“What if the whole crew is on the ship?”

“Then we can tell them what’s going on.”

“Then they’ll see you.”

Leenik winces. “This is more important than that, right?”

“It’s up to you,” Aava says carefully. She knows her answer, but Leenik is touchy about this, and she’ll give him the room to decide. “If you want to-”

“I want to.” Leenik swallows visibly, but he meets Aava’s eyes with a surprising amount of steel. Or maybe she shouldn’t be surprised by it. “I want to.”

Aava lets out a long breath. “Okay. Were they headed towards the hangar or away?”

“Away.”

“Then let’s go, while they’re distracted.”

Leenik reaches to something at his hip. Aava follows his hand and blinks in surprise to see it resting on the hilt of his lightsaber. “You brought that?”

He looks at her askance. “Why wouldn’t I? You brought yours.”

“I always carry mine.”

“So why can’t I always carry one of mine?”

“You can if you want, I just didn’t-” Aava shakes her head. “We need to get going. We can talk about this later.”

“Later,” Leenik repeats, and takes off from behind the shelf. He’s not running, but he’s definitely walking faster than normal. Aava takes a second to make sure she has her essentials - cred chips, lightsaber, launch codes - and follows him out.

Leenik doesn’t say anything the whole way to the hangar, or even so much as hesitate as he spots the Mynock. It’s docked in the middle of the bay, and he slips his hand into a pocket and comes up with an access key, gripping it tightly. Aava wonders how long he’s been keeping that on him. It seems like the kind of thing that he would carry with him, just in case.

He takes a deep breath as they approach the ramp. “Are you coming in?”

Aava purses her lips. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I knew you would say that.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“Because I wanted to see if I was right.” Leenik glances at her. “Keep watch out here, and call my comm if something happens.”

“Be careful,” Aava says softly, and Leenik halfway smiles at her before swiping his access card.

“You’re back already!” a young voice says as soon as the ramp starts lowering, and something in Aava’s heart clenches as she looks up. There are footsteps from the ramp above them, and Leenik makes a quiet, punched-out noise. “Neemo called while you were gone, just to say hi and he misses the ship, and Tony’s still napping but he’s making weird noises in his sleep again, and-”

The ramp hits the ground. Tamlin, standing at the top, goes stock still.

“Hi, Tamlin,” Leenik says. Aava can hear him choking up already.

Tamlin stares at Leenik, wide-eyed, before looking at Aava. She can feel the fear pulsing off him, mixing in with fear and anger. He doesn’t want to see her. She wishes she had it left in her to be upset about that.

“Uncle Leenik?” Tamlin says, wavering. “Why are- what are you- how did you find us?”

Leenik swallows and looks at Aava. “I don’t- Aava, I can’t-”

“Oh, yes you can.” Aava puts a hand on the small of Leenik’s back and pushes, not hard enough to cause harm but hard enough that he stumbles up the ramp. “I’ll stay out here and keep an eye out, and you’re going to go in there and do what you came here to do.”

“Wait!” Tamlin points at her. “Give me your lightsaber.”

Aava huffs out a surprised laugh. “I’m sorry?”

“You’re dangerous with that, and I don’t want you waiting out here with it.”

“I’m still dangerous without it.”

“Then I need you to be less dangerous,” Tamlin says stubbornly. He lifts his chin and for a heartstopping second it’s Grizelle standing in front of Aava, daring her to challenge this new rule. “Or else Uncle Leenik can’t come on the ship.”

“I can still come on the ship,” Leenik says, a touch desperately.

Aava bites the inside of her cheek. She doesn’t want to part ways with her lightsaber, but if this is the cost of getting Leenik on the ship and keeping Tamlin safe, then that might be worth it. She unhooks it from her belt and hands it to Leenik. “If you lose that-”

“I won’t lose it.”

“You’d better not,” Aava says grimly. “Get on the ship. I’ll be here.”

“Okay,” Leenik whispers, and goes up the ramp to the ship.

Aava turns around, as intentionally as possible, and lifts one of the Jawa Grisham books up in front of her face, open to a random page. She can still feel Tamlin watching her, his presence in the Force as solid as ever, as the ramp closes up behind her.

“You’d better know what you’re doing, bright eyes,” Aava mutters.

She tries flipping to the first page of the book, but it’s not terribly interesting, and her mind is still preoccupied. She feels a little bare without her lightsaber, but she’s on edge as it is. She’s been making an effort to avoid watching holos, but she’s pretty sure that she’s a very, very wanted criminal. There are plenty of versions of this story that will end badly for her and for Leenik.

“Aava?” a voice says in disbelief.

Aava doesn’t think, only reacts. She snaps the book shut and hurls it in the direction of the voice, as hard as she can.

“Kriff!” Tryst yelps, and jumps out of the way. Bacta and the Twi’lek - Lyn, Leenik said her name was Lyn - are standing a couple feet behind him, staring at her as the book slides across the floor. Tryst glares at her. “Jeez, what kind of an ambush is this?”

“Not an ambush,” Aava says, although her heart is still racing. “It’s good to see you.”

“I thought you killed an inquisitor or something. The reports say you’re on the run now.”

“I did, and I am.”

“And of all the spaceports in all the world, you docked in ours?”

“I didn’t think you had a problem with me pulling into your spaceport,” Aava purrs without thinking. Tryst flashes her a grin as Bacta and Lyn both groan, loudly. “I’m not here for any trouble.”

“That last line caused me trouble,” Bacta grumbles. “Why are you standing outside our ship throwing books?”

“Why do you have books?” Tryst adds. “Have you ever heard of a datapad?”

“I’m going analog. Harder to trace.”

“Why are you  _ here, _ ” Lyn says, voice tight. “Is this some kind of threat?”

“It’s not a threat.” Aava sighs. She’s sure that Leenik doesn’t want the crew to know he’s on the ship, but it’s going to be hard to get him out without them noticing. “I stopped in the same spaceport, pure coincidence, and so did some bounty hunters. I wanted to warn you because of Tamlin.”

Bacta glares at her. “And you haven’t boarded the ship?”

“Not even a step.”

“If you touched a horn on his head-”

“I didn’t,” Aava snaps. “Whether or not you choose to believe it, I care about him, and I’m not going to cause him any unnecessary harm. So now that you’re all back, the gang’s all here, I’ve warned you, and you can settle down, okay?”

“Okay,” Tryst says, with a surprising amount of sympathy. “You warned us. Thank you.”

Aava takes out her comm to tell Leenik to head for the back hatch, if there is one. She’s about to step away from the ramp before Lyn gasps. “Where is he?”

Aava glares at her. “I told you, I didn’t-”

“Not Tamlin,” Lyn snaps, and there’s nervous rage pouring off her in tight coils, simmering in the air. “Where’s Leenik?”

Tryst and Bacta both look at her sharply. “Leenik?” Tryst repeats. “Lyn, it’s been weeks since we’ve-”

Lyn points at Aava. “She said the gang’s all here. She’s not asking where he is. At the very least, they’ve been in contact already, and at most she knows where he is.”

Aava has to bite back a smile. She likes this Twi’lek. “You’re an observant one, I’ll give you that.”

Tryst grabs Bacta’s shoulder. “That sounds like a yes.”

“Is he safe?” Bacta asks, his voice cracking on the last word. It tugs at Aava’s heart, more than she’d care to admit.

She understands why Leenik left, of course, and she knows his quarrels with his family. But it’s something else entirely to be confronted with Bacta’s real, raw concern, and the way they’re all staring at her like they’re starving for information. Leenik is a part of this group, and he removed himself without a trace. It’s no wonder they’re nervous.

“He’s safe,” Aava says, and everyone exhales at once. “I can tell you that much.”

“Where is he?”

“That’s up to him to share, not me.”

“Please,” Tryst says, and all but launches himself towards Aava. She catches him with a hand on his chest, keeping him at a safe distance, but he’s still all she can see. From this close, she can tell that he’s upset, that he’s afraid, that he’s afraid for Leenik. He takes in an unsteady breath, shoulders heaving, and lowers his voice. “Please, we haven’t heard anything from him in three weeks. We’re not going to chase him down or force him to do anything he doesn’t want to do. But he’s by himself, and he doesn’t always do well, and we just need to know that he’s okay.”

Aava sighs out a long breath and moves her hand from Tryst’s chest to cup his cheek, tugging slightly. He leans down obligingly, and she moves up onto her toes to press a careful kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I wish I could tell you,” she says honestly. “I wish I could. But you’re going to have to trust me on this one. He’s okay, and I can’t say anything more..”

Tryst’s face begins to crumple, but before Aava can say anything, a voice says from behind, “Ain’t that just the sweetest?”

Tryst whips around, pulling out a blaster, and Lyn lifts a gun of her own. Aava’s hand goes to her hip, and she has to bite down on a curse when she remembers it’s not there. All she has is a bag with a couple of Jawa Grisham books, Tryst standing halfway in front of her, and a half dozen bounty hunters encircling them.

“Back off,” Lyn barks. Aava can tell it’s mostly bravado, but she’s hiding her fear well.

The bounty hunter in front, a human man with a thick green mustache, chuckles. “Well, I would, but the bounty for everyone in this room is too good to pass up. We’ve almost got a complete set with your little crew.” He makes a circle with his blaster to encompass the crew of the Mynock, and settles back in with it pointing just over Tryst’s shoulder, directly at Aava. “And of course, all the creds I miss out on from the Rodian and the kid, I get back triple with the witch.”

“You’re not taking any of us in,” Tryst says sharply. One of his arms is creeping across Aava’s chest like he’s trying to keep her back, which would be sweet if she weren’t fully capable of defending herself. “So why don’t you do what my friend says and back off?”

Aava grips her comm in one hand. From the angle the bounty hunters are standing, they can’t see her hand, so she lifts the comm and types out a careful, simple message to Leenik:  _ SOS. _

“You’re outnumbered,” the man with the green mustache says cheerfully. “Quite severely, if we’re being honest. And it looks like your little witch friend doesn’t have her magic sword, so you don’t have that going for you.”

Every head turns to Aava. She shrugs, as nonchalantly as possible. “What can I say? Caught me on an off day.”

“You’ve never had an off day like that,” Tryst says suspiciously.

“You haven’t seen my off days.” She drops the bag full of books on the floor, and her comm along with it, hoping that nobody will notice the comm falling with the thud of the books. “Of course, me not having my lightsaber doesn’t mean I’m not dangerous. Why do you think my bounty’s so high?”

Green Mustache cocks his head. “Do you know how high your bounty is?”

“I can’t say I do.”

“You’re higher than the rest of them.” He gestures with his blaster again. “Combined.”

“Well, I daresay I’m more dangerous.”

Bacta makes an affronted noise. “We’ve beat you in combat!”

“But you never killed me or anything. Obviously, I mean, look at me.”

“There are lots of way to measure combat efficiency!”

“And I feel like I’ve bested you in several of those ways,” Aava argues. She hears a click, something that sounds like a hatch opening, and she presses forward, hoping that if she’s loud enough nobody will question the sound of a door opening. “I’ve captured one of you once or twice, I’ve been around for a while and you haven’t gotten rid of me yet, I’ve seduced-”

“ _ You’ve _ seduced?” Tryst yelps. “It was mutual seduction! We had sex together, there was no one party who-”

“If I remember right, I did a lot of the work-”

“Hey, now, don’t make it sound like I didn’t do anything.” Tryst tosses his hair. “Tryst Valentine always makes sure his partner has a good time.”

Green Mustache looks disgusted. Aava has to resist the bizarre urge to giggle. “I’m not saying I didn’t have a good time. I’m saying it seemed like you had a great time, and I’d like there to be credit where it’s due.”

“I’m not discrediting you! I’m just saying-”

“Oh, you’re just saying-”

“You can have my bounty if it means I don’t have to listen to this anymore,” Bacta says, with a grim kind of sincerity to it. Lyn nods in agreement.

“It’s too late,” Tryst says, with far, far too much glee for the situation at hand. “You’re gonna be thinking about this for the rest of the day.”

Bacta makes a face. “I know you’re right, but-”

“But nothing! I win.” Tryst glances back at Aava. “We win?”

“I think it’s a team effort,” she agrees.

Green Mustache’s face twitches. “Now that we’ve settled all this-”

“Uncle Bacta?”

Everyone whips around, turning to face Tamlin. He’s by himself, lower lip quivering, eyes big and wet. Immediately the air around Aava is alight with horror - Bacta’s, Lyn’s, Tryst’s,  _ hers _ \- and something sharp and dangerous. The bounty hunters want him. She can’t let that happen.

But Tamlin doesn’t look afraid. Or, no, that’s not quite right, he’s playing the part quite well. He’s shaking, and he’s breathing shallowly, but he doesn’t feel afraid. In the Force, he feels… calm. Determined. Aava reaches for him through the Force, more curiosity than malice, and he still seems like he’s balanced. Peaceful.

“Tamlin,” Bacta says, wracked with desperation. “What are you doing off the ship?”

“I heard voices,” Tamlin says, which is most certainly not the truth. He says it like he’s asking a question, or like he’s coming up with something on the spot. “Yeah, I- I thought I heard you all out here, and I wanted to surprise you, so I came out the back hatch.”

He’s holding something up the sleeve of his robe. He’s looking at Bacta with an unnervingly steady gaze, but his eyes flick to Aava for a second. She frowns. Leenik is nowhere in sight. But he has to be doing something. He wouldn’t let Tamlin out on his own.

“Tama, get back on the ship,” Tryst says, voice tight. “You shouldn’t be- why would you get off the ship?”

“He’s making our job easy,” Green Mustache says easily. He tilts his head at the two who are standing closest to Tamlin, on the outskirt of their semicircle. “Grab ‘im.”

“Wait!” Tamlin says, and the two bounty hunters stop. “Don’t you, uh… want to meet my lizards?”

“The lizards are not a good idea,” Lyn says frantically. “A good idea is getting out of here.”

“But I can’t get out of here,” Tamlin says exasperatedly. “It’s not-”

“Not what?” Bacta demands.

Now Tamlin looks actually concerned for the first time. He pauses and then looks deliberately at Aava for the first time. His gaze is uncannily steady. “It’s not part of the plan.”

“The plan?” Tryst repeats. “What plan?”

Aava looks at Tamlin’s hand, curled up inside his sleeve. Holding her lightsaber. He’s still looking at her with something careful in his eyes. He doesn’t seem at all concerned about the fact that he’s cornered, with bounty hunters closing in on him. He doesn’t even seem concerned about Leenik’s whereabouts. He’s captured, but he’s not afraid.

“That son of a Slorth,” she breathes. He let himself get captured on purpose. 

Tryst looks at her sharply. “Aava, what plan is this? You have a plan?”

“I do now,” she says, and Tryst’s brow furrows. “But it’s not my plan.”

“It’s mine,” Leenik says, from the opposite side of the semicircle from Tamlin. He fires his blaster, and the bounty hunter in front of him goes down like a sack of rocks.

Aava reaches out and pulls her lightsaber to her, and Tamlin yelps as it flies out of his hand and into hers. She activates the blade and throws it at Green Mustache, whose mouth opens into a perfect O as it skewers him through the heart.

“Tamlin, get to cover!” Tryst shouts, and Tamlin breaks into a sprint, running to the other side of the Mynock.

One of the bounty hunters tries to give chase, but Lyn takes him down with two bolts from her blaster. Another tries to tackle Bacta, but he drives an elbow into the guy’s sternum and takes him down.

Aava calls her lightsaber back to her, turning wildly. Tamlin is behind the ship, hidden except for his presence in the Force. Lyn and Tryst have moved so they’re back to back, both of them aiming up at the catwalk above them. Tryst fires off a shot, and there’s a scream and a thud.

“Aava!” Leenik shouts, and Aava whirls as one of the bounty hunters slices a vibrosword down at her. She dodges to one side and swings her saber in a wide arc, narrowly missing. The bounty hunter thrusts his sword at her, and she has to lunge out of the way.

“Duck!” Tryst yells, and Aava hits the deck as blaster fire soars above her head. The bounty hunter thuds to the ground next to her.

Bacta yells something wordless and triumphant, and she turns to see him staggering to his feet. The bounty hunter he was grappling with doesn’t move.

Lyn lowers her blaster with a huff of breath. “Is that all of them?”

“Think so,” Bacta grunts. There’s already a bruise blossoming high on his cheek, but he doesn’t look worse for wear. None of them really do. “There were five of them, right?”

“Six,” Tryst says with a frown.

Aava’s eyes flick around the room. “If the sixth one ran away-”

“Leenik, behind!” Lyn says suddenly. Leenik spins around just as the sixth bounty hunter rams their elbow into Leenik’s hand, disarming him.

Leenik shouts out in pain, and Lyn fires but misses. Tryst takes aim, but Aava can see the moment he realizes that they’re grappling too closely. If he shoots, he could hit Leenik.

The bounty hunter laughs and presses their blaster to Leenik’s temple. “First I get you, then I’m gonna get that kid.”

Leenik’s hand falls to his saber. “No,” he growls, and activates it. He stabs wildly behind him, and it goes through the bounty hunter’s chest - no vital organs, but enough to take them down. They fall to the ground, and Leenik turns wildly, clutching his saber. “Is that all of them? Did we get them?”

“We got them.” Aava’s gaze slides down from his face to his lightsaber. “Leenik.”

“What?”

“Saber.”

“Saber?” Leenik lifts the saber in front of him, and his eyes widen as he takes it in. The blade isn’t red anymore. It’s a bright, pure gold. “I didn’t know they came in this color.”

“I think that means it’s your color.” Aava pushes herself upright so she’s sitting. Leenik is awash in a faint gold light. “You did it.”

“I did it,” Leenik echoes. He turns the saber off and reattaches it to his belt, and then turns to the rest of the crew. They’re still staring at him dumbfounded, and she can see the panic setting in as Leenik realizes it. “I, uh… hi.”

“Uncle Leenik’s back!” Tamlin shouts. Aava turns to watch him as he sprints out from behind the Mynock and careens into Leenik, crashing into his legs and holding on for dear life.

That’s enough to break the dam: Tryst holsters his blaster and follows suit, pulling Leenik in for a hug, and Bacta is close behind.

Lyn holds back and offers a hand to Aava. “So you were with him.”

“Only for the last couple days.” Aava takes Lyn’s hand and gets to her feet. “I’m impressed you figured it out.”

“I’m the brains of the operation,” Lyn says dryly. “Has he been doing okay?”

“Mostly. He never seemed unwell or anything.”

“But he seems better now.”

Leenik says something that Aava can’t quite catch, but if Aava had to guess, it’s probably an apology. Tryst starts shaking his head, and Bacta draws him in for a tighter hug. It makes Aava’s heart clench.

“He does,” she admits.

“Thank you,” Lyn says, surprisingly earnest. Aava glances at her in surprise, and Lyn meets her gaze evenly. “I don’t know you, or even really like you, but I know that Leenik does. And he seems more like himself than he has in a long time. Thank you for bringing him back to us.”

“He came back on his own.”

“No,” Lyn says firmly. “He came back with you.” She doesn’t give Aava time to respond before she goes over to join the group hug, pulling Leenik in tightly. It pulls at Aava’s heart a little bit, watching all of them together like a knot. Like a family.

Leenik props his chin up on Bacta’s shoulder and flicks his eyes around until they land Aava. There are tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, but he still smiles at her, tremulous and genuine.

Aava smiles back. She can’t help herself.

 

#

 

Tryst ducks into the cockpit and makes a face. “Tell me this is only temporary.”

“Probably,” Aava says, getting to her feet. Blue’s transport for her is cramped and a little greasy, but it’s fully functional. “I’m not planning on staying here long.”

“Good.” Tryst pauses. “You know you can call us if you need anything, right?”

“You mean I can call you, specifically.”

“I don’t know, I think you’ve earned a lot of goodwill today.”

“Maybe I have, but I’m not going to push it.”

“I mean it. What you did goes a long way.”

Aava arches an eyebrow up at Tryst, and he grins at her. It’s not quite his usual roguish cliche of a grin; it’s a little soppy, a little helpless. She shakes her head. “You’re too sentimental, Valentine.”

“Sentiment goes a long way in a galaxy like this.”

“Maybe so.” She can’t help but hook a hand around his head and draw him down. He follows her and kisses her, brief and chaste, and puts a hand on the small of her back. “Look after your people, Tryst.”

“Look after yourself,” he replies. “We’ll see each other again.”

“I know we will.”

Tryst smiles at her again and moves his hand from her back to squeeze her shoulder, and then ducks out of the ship. He says something she can’t quite catch as she follows him out and sees Leenik, sitting at the bottom of the ramp, holding both of his lightsabers.

Aava goes down the ramp and sits next to him. “You doing okay?”

Wordlessly, Leenik activates both of the lightsabers. The first one is still a brilliant gold. The second one is still red.

“It bothers you that the second one hasn’t changed,” she guesses.

Leenik sighs. “What does it mean?”

“It means that you haven’t purified the second one yet.”

“What if I never do?”

“Then you never do.”

“And what if the first one turns red again?”

Aava shrugs. “Leenik, nobody is purely good or purely bad all the time. But if you’re committed to this, to purifying them and keeping them gold, then you can make that commitment. You do the meditation, and you make the hard choices, and you try to do what’s right. If that’s what you want to do, you can try for it. It’ll be work, but it’ll be worth it.”

Leenik switches off both of the lightsabers and looks at Aava. “You could come with us.”

“I know I could.”

“Do you think you’re doing the right thing?”

Aava pauses. There are any number of answers to that, but she finds herself thinking about the gala on Coruscant. Just her and Zero and Blue against the entire Empire. Against the entire galaxy, united for those few hours, on that balcony and afterwards.

She feels the same way that she did then: certain. Like for the first time, possibly in her entire life, she’s doing something that she knows to be good for herself, because she wants to.

“I think I’m doing the best thing,” she answers. Leenik drops his head onto her shoulder. “It’s been a fun couple of days, bright eyes.”

“I’m going to miss having you around.”

“I’ll miss you too. You have my comm information?”

Leenik nods. “And you have mine? In case you change yours?”

“I’ll call you if I change mine,” Aava promises. “I need to get going.”

Leenik sighs, but he gets to his feet. “Remember, if anything goes wrong-”

“Call you?”

“I was going to say get captured on purpose, but your answer might be better.”

Aava barks out a laugh before she can help herself. “Never change, Leenik.”

“I dunno,” Leenik says thoughtfully. “A little change might be good.”

Slowly, Aava feels herself smile at him. “Yeah,” she says, and he beams back, finally as radiant as she remembers him being. “I think you’re right.”

  
  
  


#

 

epilogue.

  
  
  


Aava presses the chip with the launch codes into the hand of the first empty-handed person she sees. “Dock D-17,” she says, and then she’s off, lost in the bustle of the spaceport.

She hadn’t expected there to be coordinates aboard the ship, much less coordinates that led anywhere other than Trandosha. But they’d been there, along with simple instructions. Come to this spaceport. Ditch the ship. Find this market. Stay safe.

She supposes it’s sweet that Zero and Blue keep telling her to stay safe, like they think the big bad Empire is going to snatch poor little Aava up one day. Or maybe they’re right. Maybe that’s what happened to her to begin with.

Denon is a city planet, and not one that Aava has ever visited before. It’s smoggy and dim, and overwhelming in a way. She likes it immediately. It’s mostly humans, sure, but there are enough aliens that she can blend in and be a part of the shuffle. It’s easier than ever, too: she has some of Lyn’s old clothes, a duffle bag of books and food from the Mynock, one of Leenik’s old wigs that he’d parted with tearfully. She has her lightsaber, still hanging at her hip beneath her coat.

Maybe most importantly she has the new clean comm that was waiting for her in the ship, with a couple of pre-programmed numbers. And now with the Mynock’s numbers, too.

She finds the market before long. It’s the middle of the day and the streets are swamped with people, chattering and laughing. It’s easy for Aava to slip between them unnoticed, gripping her comm in one hand, keeping her head on a swivel. She doesn’t know why Blue sent her here. She has to assume there’s something waiting, and given how specific the instructions were, it has to be something nearby.

Her comm buzzes in her hand, and she lifts it up. “Kanner Keona speaking.”

“Where do you come up with these names?” Blue says, sounding fascinated. “Do you have a list somewhere that you pull from, just ready to go? Or do you come up with them when you answer the comm?”

“The last one was from a book, actually.”

“What about this one?”

“I’ll tell you when I move on to the next one.”

“Well, you’ll have to help me come up with one.”

Aava stops short. That doesn’t make sense. “What?”

“On your right.”

She turns and begins scanning the crowd. Most everyone is still laughing and talking like it’s a normal day, so she’s looking for someone standing still, someone at the edges. “I was wondering why you chose such a specific meeting point.”

“Yeah, I was trying to narrow it down a little. Make this part easier.” Aava narrows her eyes as she scans, trying to find someone talking in time with what she’s hearing. Blue sounds completely unbothered. “Nice wig, by the way. The blonde really threw us for a loop.”

“That’s what disguises are supposed to do.” At last, she lands on a human, standing almost entirely in shadow.

He’s plainly dressed, and his hair is long and black, tied back in a ponytail. He smiles as soon as Aava catches his eye. He’s not wearing glasses, and it looks like his eyes are a different color. But there’s no doubt about it: from the angle of his chin to his hands in his pockets, that’s Blue. And she’d bet money that the figure standing a couple yards behind him is Zero.

“Have you ever had hair that long before?”

“Never,” Blue says, sounding a little put out about it. “It’s heavier than I expected; how do people do this all the time?”

Aava smiles as she starts moving towards him, dipping through the crowd with practiced ease. “I couldn’t tell you. This one’s too long for me.”

“That one is going to get caught on something and ripped off, and then we’ll all be in trouble.”

“What, we’re not all in enough trouble already?”

Zero says something that Aava can’t quite hear, and Blue grins. “He says we’re making trouble for ourselves.”

“I’m inclined to agree.” She hangs up her comm as she finally comes to a stop in front of Blue, looking him up and down. “Not bad.”

“Not so bad yourself. It’s good to see you.”

Aava only pauses for half a second before she pulls him in for a hug. He goes stiff with surprise, but he leans down and awkwardly pats her back. It’s been a long couple weeks for her, and she has to imagine it has been for him too.

“Good to see you too,” she says quietly, and pulls back to adjust her bag over her shoulder. “How’d you pick the planet?”

“0ni wanted crowd cover,” Blue answers conversationally, and Aava barely masks her surprise at hearing Zero’s real name. “Also, it was about midway between your spaceport and ours.”

“Good plan.” Aava goes a little deeper into the alley before pausing in surprise. Zero doesn’t have his helmet on. “Hey.”

He gives her a crooked smile. She’s only seen him without his helmet once before, and he doesn’t look comfortable, but he’s here anyways. “Hey, yourself. How was the flight?”

“I’ve had worse.” She drops her bag on the ground and goes to hug him with both arms, holding him tight. He squeezes her back, and for the first time in weeks, Aava can feel herself really relaxing into it. “What are you doing here?”

“We had a couple of conversations after we called you the other day.” Zero pulls back and glances behind Aava, catching Blue’s eye. “I told you there was fallout when you left.”

“I wish you hadn’t had to deal with that fallout,” Aava says honestly. “That was never my intention.”

“I don’t think we could’ve stayed with the Empire forever,” Blue says. Aava looks at him in surprise as he moves to stand behind Zero, but he only shrugs. “It was a constant political game, and assassinations are a political move. Someone was going to try and kill me sooner or later, and not just some rebel citizen. I didn’t have a bodyguard for fun. I’ve known for a while it was going to come to this.”

“And here you are.”

Blue smiles thinly. “And here I am.”

“Here  _ we _ are,” Zero says. “Both of us, if you’ll have us.”

“If I’ll have you?” Aava repeats. Something in her chest feels looser. “Of course I’ll have you. Being on the run alone is horrible, and you two both have more formal connections than I do.”

“That was an easy sell,” Blue mutters. “What do you want to do now?”

Aava’s comm buzzes in her hand. She can already guess that it’s Leenik, asking if she got where she was going safely, or maybe asking what she thinks of the Jawa Grisham books from the spaceport.

It would be so easy to throw the comm away and get a new one from Blue. It would be so easy, and maybe even safer for them both, to never call him again. It would be so easy, but she’s never been good at cutting ties. Not the ties that matter.

“I think I want to sleep,” she says at last. “And then we’ll figure out what’s next.”

“Yeah,” Zero says, and for a moment, Aava feels safe again. “We will.”

 

#

 

Leenik,

I haven’t had the chance to start the book yet, because I was flying the whole time. I’ll let you know what I think once I really get rolling. I landed safely and met up with Z&B (new names pending - I’d ask you for help but I know you don’t like pseudonyms much). And I’ll send you some better tips on combat drills when I’m a little more awake. It was a long flight. But I’m with my people. I’m glad you are too.

Take care, bright eyes. We’ll talk soon.

A

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, come say hello to me on Tumblr or Twitter - I'm @waveridden on both. Thank you for reading!


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